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Astronomy magazine podcast: Messier marathon

Contributing Editors Glenn Chaple and Phil Harrington preview their annual battle to spy the most Messier objects in a single night.

Published: Thursday, March 15, 2007

Charles Messier was a French astronomer and comet hunter who discovered 13 comets independently and codiscovered a half-dozen others. While hunting for comets, Messier compiled a list of fuzzy objects that were not comets in order to avoid them. These catalog entries were later identified as star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. These objects became the Messier Catalog. Published in various versions beginning in 1771, the catalog grew to 103 objects by 1781. Charles Messier lived from June 26, 1730 to April 12, 1817.

SEDS

March 13, 2007This weekend marks the best time of the year to attempt the Messier marathon  an observing event where observers try to spy all 109 Messier objects in one night. In this week's show, Contributing Editors Glenn Chaple and Phil Harrington give advice on pacing yourself during the marathon, list tips for first-time "runners," and discuss their annual competition to best each other.